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schmeap · 3 months

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do people on this website post tierlists for fun idk does anyone care about my opinions on pokemon and miku probably not but I'm finally giving into the urge to be really annoying about music (not a music analyst) (doesn't know how to identify a lemotif) (Was in High School Marching Band)

Anyway gonna be real fuckin annoying about this one its called i talk about rankings that are mostly personal bias

Let's just go in release order lol

Songs linked in their "titles" (video embed limit is. less than 18)

DECO*27's Volt Tackle

ok so i have a confession. when this song came out, I knew it was going to end up pretty low on the list lol

Deconina (i can't. type that every time guys) is one of my favorite producers and almost every song he makes I nod my head at and go "yeah. that's a banger." But. BUT. He's started mixing his harder rock styles with his poppier hip hop styles and it comes to a head in this song. The bridge is really really distracting lol, feels like a different song and tone entirely from the kind of intense, battle like ferocity of the main part to a cutesy pop chant... It has a purpose, I'm sure, but there's something too dissonant about it for me to like.

The like, rest of the song is Deconina at his Deconina-est, I love the cute take on love (as he always does) with a pokemon flavoring... The visuals are also quite cute and fitting. It's really solid, but that one point holds it back from Funky Fresh, which is my baseline Very Solid.

Electrical Forecast by inabakumori

The second song, by a producer I don't follow nearly as closely as Deco. Uhh I did listen to lagtrain as homework before this and yes it bangs. It's always nice to see people using people other than Miku and Kaai Yuki actually has a real solid appeal to me.

This is a song that slaps. It bangs, even. I don't know enough about inabakumori to comment on its relevance to their personal stylings or themes but we were still in the romance period with pokemon puns and tie ins so I was already tempted to put it higher in the list. In actuality, every song does an excellent jobs integrating game sounds and puns so no extra points are available for that stuff lol

Taking the idea of catching pokemon is always dangerous, I think, because pokemon fans aren't really here to catch things, we're mostly interested in battles and the journey with our faves, not completing the pokedex (because it's hard, and kind of chore) at least, to me. This song feels like a journey through the tall grass, scouring the lands to find pokemon... I just like the inabakumori style man. It gets points for getting on the playlist, but not really speaking to me.

Mitchie M's What Kind of Future

Silly songs.......... my weakness and Mitchie M's strength oh no.........

Yeah Mitchie M really plays to his strengths, using cute visuals and nonstop puns to ooze a charm you can only get from haplessly indulging in the most whimsical of vibes. It was also quite surprising how well their TL team did with all the puns given some of them barely work lol.

"I love them all" is the type of pokemon fan I am, so that might also help explain why two of those songs are up so high...

Pinocchio-P Kills You with The Pokemon Inside My Heart

yeah i cried what're *you* gonna do about it huh

Im a pinocchio-p fan. I don't always like everything he puts out, but when he really hits its insane how hard he does.

1) i fucking love his little pinomikus... having them all in a costume is so fucking cute they're little slit eyed freaks and by far my favorite trademark a producer's ever had lol My favorite. is lapras...

2) This isn't the first song to fuck me up by him lol 2:30 Life Remaining also damaging as hell, so it wasn't surprising to see him go for a quieter angle but man when its something you grew up with, a nostalgia you could relate to, an experience you lived, its way worse. It's such a soft song, with an upbeat backbone, I've no idea how he got the music to scream "nostalgia" so hard but the reverberating "aah"s are so cool too...

Anyway this song would be the best song if I weren't horrendously biased. It should honestly be up their with the top two but it was funnier to keep it in the crying tier.

Battle! by cosMo@Bousou-P

I honestly did not like this song all that much when it first came out, but that was almost certainly because it was right after Pinochhio-P's lol

The high concept of people in the comments talking about some sort of Miku AI champion that was tired of winning got me more into the song now that I'm not directly comparing it to a song that spoke way more to me, there's just something a little unhinged about it in the way that cosMoBousou does well with machine intelligence/the meaning of digital media.

He also plays p well into his strengths with the breakcore fast bpm lol this song screams GO GO GO! I think it makes total sense why he'd go for a battle theme, and I really like the way the pokemon sfx are incorporated into the backing... drums? Unfortunately, I like battle songs not that much, and the lyrics leave a little to be desired because the story's a bit... confusing lol Maybe it's cheap of me to prefer nostalgia baits over whatever strange original story cosMo's thought up but that's how it is.

A little evil with Kasamura Tota's I'll Fly in the Sky with You

Another producer I've not heard of before! No one talked about this song either, in my circles, I actually missed it until I came back for Giga and Jin's. I passed over it on first watch, put it on in the background and said "yeah, that's a nice soft song," thinking nothing of it. Boy was I fucking WRONG

edit (not an edit I'm writing this all in one sitting), I LIED I *have* heard this guys stuff before!! Araki covered one of his songs lol ok I'm getting the sense their skillset is Violently Sad Songs and goddamn are they good at em.

Anyway this song's MV is adorable and uses mudkips status as an adorable fave as a double shot directly to your sadglands as it tells a story of a pokemon that stays the same to continue to fly with its friend. Its fucked up, and a little evil, and totally took me by surprise because I was a fool. Little Guys Deserve Love Too is something you don't always remember as pokemon fan and it takes the implication of evolution seriously its really some pokemon Mystery Dungeon type heartstring pulling that got me good.

Musically I love the quiet backing that really lets the vocals (the story) breathe, its a musical narrative. The back and forth between Luka and Miku is done really well, plus having it based entirely around an existing pokemon song really helps it achieve its heart punching effectiveness.

Also I have a horrible bias toward piano please don't look up at the tierlist and where I placed Marasy

(Hilarious it got a kids rating on youtube btw. Another youtube kids L, probably)

We couldn't draw miku at a fucked up angle this time guys: Giga's Gotchu!

lol yeah they had to sanitize this one's visuals a little bit, probably worked with a different artist than usual... It does show, a bit, in the kind of bouncy visual style Giga's used to being flatter and less 3D than usual. This leaves the music video a little lesser than the others that move... I also don't know if I've ever been a huge fan of Giga's recent animation style.

In terms of actual song: it's good! Giga puts his swing on classic pokemon motifs and it feels very him, with a nice mix of hip hop beat and electrical edge.

But uh, remember how I said before "catching pokemon is the weakest element of pokemon"? That point stands here, especially since the song itself is just simple and peppy. It's stylish as hell but doesn't give me a sense of journey or scouring like inabakumori's.

Sorry, but someone had to be last.

Jin's Secretly Miku the whole time: Juvenile

Trans miku real or whatever

I'd like to say this is the first full on deadass whole animated story. I should be right. Also I don't think I've followed Jin since Kagepro lol (but I did hear Neo, and I did scream really loudly at it!)

dude the eevee is drawn so fucking cute im rhhdghh im not even a huge eevee fan (too mammal) but man when he do the lil paw to cheer up their trainer it got me. I also really like the compassion of the story, the trainers just want to support each other even though they fight... It's like, that's kind of what pokemon is, it's not necessarily about winning, even if Every Voice on the internet Ever (including myself) tells you otherwise. Turns out all you need from a friendly rival to make them better is to lose against them and not let them speak (im joking.......)

I just realized I never looked up the lyrics, actually, but I totally got the emotions through the fantastic MV and the general upswings of the music. It's a bold swing to take a trainer through their whole journey, but both songs that try this hit it justtt right, actually. Building yourself back up after a loss is like, The pokemon story, because turns out you can't win them all. Plus it takes time to focus on the mundanity of the pokemon journey, the stuff you don't really think about in game but is the meat of any fanfic... depicting hanging out w your pokemon is a huge bonus points.

The music combined with the visuals made me cry what can I say, I don't cry easily so it deserves it.

Syudou's I'm a Ghost Type

I honestly don't know a whole lot about Syudou, not to say I don't know who he is, i do, i play pjsekai, but none of his "popular" songs really captured me.

I can mostly say the same for this one lol This is the first one where I have to actually explain the Funky Fresh tier: it means they play well to their strengths but they don't have a whole lot of staying power to me. This is where my pickiness starts kicking in, they just weren't swanky enough to make the cut.

The lyrics and visuals scream joy of ghost types though, I really dig how much energy is in the song... I think it's just personal preference for electric beats that puts the song the highest in Funky Fresh.

BIPPA!! Wonderful Opportunity with Go! Bidoof Group!

Wonder Opp never fails me they got my back every time. I was hoping for something silly happy peppy fun and oh boy did i get it. A feverish dedication to a silly not strong pokemon, a basic rat you can get in any route that the pokemon company loves making fun of, BIPPA!!

All these dumb mfs so relatable to the Len that wants to evolve for utility, to the Rin that loves him as he is, to Miku who thinks all pokemon have their appeals... I've seen some people say WonderOpp's songs border on just speaking over beat, but I don't really see what's wrong with that. The comedic timing is solid (Len getting shot down is so funny) and the setup is inherently funny, a team of bullies that go after Only Bidoof. Team Rocket but Bidoof.

Joy radiates from this song and who doesn't want to hold a pokemon in front of your friends and go "Look!! this is my favorite child!!!" I think that's the real essence of pokemon. Pick your faves and then be really annoying about them. That's why this is the best one.

Huh? Muddled... (Weird title... it's sfx, really) by Kuriyama Yuri

This project got me digging around in new producers libraries, quite fun. In this one I found Jitterbug! I love a good Meiko producer... But I don't particularly like their style, sorry to say.

I do like it though! It's fun, spooky and very stylized! I love the rhythm it gets into and the expressions on the people, even if I'm not entirely sure what's going on besides some good ol fasioned spooks. I think it accomplishes what it sets out to do, which is make a spooky ghost house experience song. Just doesn't appeal to me enough to rank it higher.

Orangestar's Encounter

Look. This is pure bias. But I also think it's good!

I've gone on record (no record. just talking to friends lmao) saying Orangestar's music feels like running alongside a ocean during a sunshower. All their music is kind of same-y but by god does it hit that niche so good for me, using vocaloids to go way above what any human would sound good. In this song the synthwave really elevates it to something I'd recommend a non-Orangestar fan, it really carries you up, gives the song a rising energy... just like Lugia.

Breath is a key of Orangestar's songs, besides being very high, there's a lot of running vocals and held notes, meaning singing them is again, very difficult (if you're trying to copy miku) and I think the breathlessness of the vocals and synth really works with the concept of a legendary encounter. It's always so cool when you finally run into the thing on the box... and in the surrounding media, everyone always oohs and aahs. The lyrics support this, but I'm not very good at reading, so I actually just skim them to make sure they aren't total nonsense lol

Eon Ticket by Marasy

I saw somewhere an author's comment about this song, something to the effect of "I always chased Latios and Latias"... So this is just a song about your faves, just like pokemon should be. It also has Kaito, which is *my* crypton bias.

Uhh I'm always back and forth on Marasy songs, I love him as a pianist, but his compositions don't always speak to me working with the others on em. But? I think this one hits nicely. It's a little toothless still, not as emotionally impactful as those on the top, won't make me scream in excitement but I do think this is one of my favorites in a while.

Kaito and Miku... it's always nice to have duets in this Miku focused project lol. I think the Eon ticket, Latios and Latias in particular was a good pairing for Marasy's flighty fluttering piano trills and runs, they're the kind of pokemon that dash around the skies like the music does. Part of what makes me rank composers higher in these miku songs is whether they play to their strengths or not, because you're already adding the twist of subject matter, and I think this does. I also think the framing device of the newscasters is cute

Party Rock Eternity by Hachioji-P

Ahh Hachioji, another name I know and don't really listen to on purpose... Rad Dogs goes insane though an all time fave (but I say that about half the VBS commissioned songs). Maybe that's why I biased it higher, because it's a style of music I really like. A lot of bias is probably involved in this lol (poison type fan)

I like the perspective of a rocket grunt a lot, leans extremely well into the harder rock of Hachioji's natural lean, but the lyrics don't really tell us much, it doesn't quite lean hard enough into character for me to give it a funky pass... plus I find it's missing a POP that makes it appealing. It's extremely pleasant, but I can't give it a pass.

Iyowa's Journey's Prequels, Journey's Traces

Hmm, I think the only producer I know truly nothing about, didn't even really recognize a song on their page. Doesn't matter since this song's extremely cute and appealing on its own.

The button mashing making up the backing track I almost didn't like but it totally grew on me, it gives the song more life. Visually the MV compliments the cutesy subject and the wonder of a child's first pokemon. But... it's just pleasant. It suffers the same fate as Party Rock Eternity before it, there's just nothing pushing it beyond musically, likely in part because I'm not as familiar with the composer. I like songs that go somewhere, and this one stays in the same place, which doesn't make it bad, it just makes it less interesting to me.

Esper Esper, Psychic Psychic! by NayutalieN

I don't listen to a whole lot of NayutalieN's stuff outside the Rhythm Game Staples (most of which I like, at least passively), but it's enough that I know generally what I'm getting.

Musically this song doesn't stand out to me all that much, I like the rising tones during the chorus, but it actually doesn't use as many of the kind of flourishes on the top of vocals I really like about Nayutalie's tuning. The sfx in blend with the background are also really fun but for me, theming tops out anything.

When I went into the song, I wanted a cute silly fun song about psychic type pokemon that LOVED psychic types. I wanted to see them clap. And they did! There's just so many psychic types doing the classic flip back and forth dance, and isn't that, really, what makes a NayutalieN song?

Kairiki Bear's Melomeloid

So Kairiki Bear I actually spent like, a day lying in bed listening to their entire lineup on their channel lol I wanted to determine whether I liked them as a producer or if I just really liked Bug. Turned out I just really liked Bug (and venom). That's to say, I wasn't expecting something standout in this song.

I was not disappointed, but I wasn't blown away either. That's ok, I think the most important part of Kairiki Bear songs are their texture, the rhythm of the vocals mixed with the instrument. I like Bug because of its punchiness, its extremely harsh tones, and Melomeloid's are a bit softer. It's good for a song about fairy types, but it doesn't make up that loss in musicality through the melody, which makes it average to me. But! I think it really hits where fairy types lie, a cutesy "I love you" mixed with the signature sharp, kind of off tune vocals with a harsh, present beat... It screams "cute but dangerous."

A Glorious Day for Miku Yuri by EVE (it's Glorious Day)

wh what if u were a dragon type trainer and and I was a fairy type trainer and uh uh hhhhh and we were rivals............

Um ok, I just have to say, before I talk about Eve or whatever. The fact that they animate Every Miku in Voltage's art run and place them in this mikuverse where they all fight together is like, dude talk about an excellent finale. Deadass that touch alone put this to its ranking by itself.

That's not to say the music's not pulling its weight. It's Eve, and though I think is one of his weaker compositions, not being able to play into his more off beat rhythms (and having to use miku) it's still got all the bones of an extremely solid hype journey song. But to be honest, I think the music is the weakest part of Glorious Day, even if its flow is perfect for the story they're telling.

But the story..... God I do love a fully animated MV, there's just so much they put in it to make a pokemon fan happy, from the sakuga of the battle and the possible red cameo. Plus YURI!!! I love miku miku relationships I just think this one has the most potential to live in my brain rent free, so it goes up a tier. As a pokemon fan, this one's got the most for me, even if as a vocaloid fan, I wish Eve would just sing all his songs forever lol

Uh anyway thanks for listening like and comment if you want me to do this for commissioned songs for sekai i guess

#vocaloid #project voltage #I'm not tagging anything else lmao #this is a rambling post #I just like music and have opinions ok #is that so wrong.................#miku compels me #actually it was probably pokemon that compelled me #btw i already have a ranking system for sekai songs #ive been sitting on this stuff for a while #just takes a long ass time to type #typed this out instead of doing my work tbh #oops

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digitalcactusblog · 2 months

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song ask meme!!! tagged by @hybridcitrus, thank you for the tag!!!!! >:3c i do so love inflicting my music taste on others :3c

Shuffle your on repeat playlist and list the first 10 songs, and then tag 10 people

God's Plan - Mother Mother y'all, the new mother mother album FUCKS HARD. i missed their old sound so much and it's back with this album!!!

The Glow (feat. Kimbra) - Big Data great song to blast in the car while you're driving to feel cool and also if you love heavy bass which i do :3

Kill All Your Friends - My Chemical Romance i actually only discovered this song like, recently??? by recently i mean like in the last two years, but considering i first listened to the Black Parade album like........ 10-12 years ago??? cannot believe. anyways this song gives me oc brainworms (shaoyuan my beloathed) for some fucking reason.

Astral Travel - Kikuo & Hatsune Miku i've been listening to Kikuo's stuff for a while but somehow i didn't notice that they dropped a new album?? honestly that's how it goes most of the time for me, it's always a fun surprise

Whisper - The Dear Hunter i'm kinda surprised it took 4 other songs before i hit a TDH one tbh but yeah this one!!! the migrant album was the album that got me into TDH, actually, and it's in my top 3 albums i think??? this song is especially fun to scream-sing loudly when you're feeling emotions. what emotions, you may ask? who knows! just as long as there's lots of it! just look at the lyrics cmon. also not to sing casey crescenzo's praises to the sun and back but, this man's voice. when you hit the chorus, man oh man. i love it.

The Carousel - Best Frenz & Joywave JOYWAVE joywave my beloved!!!!!!!!!! joywave's another band that i completely failed to follow along with and then suddenly i re-found some of their music, went "this is so good please tell me there's more" and then found all their albums??? and then there were NEW ALBUMS??? this is one of the tracks from one of them. this ALSO gives me tremendous oc brainworms (shaoyuan my beloathed again)

The Moments in Between - The Reign of Kindo if you like TDH, you'll probably also like the Reign of Kindo, because that's how i found them lmao. completely unrelated, if i have enough brainworms about an oc, i inevitably end up associating them with a band/multiple bands, and this band i strongly associated with tora. not even sure why!!

Burning Pile - Mother Mother wow, what a blast from the past. i used to listen to this as a sad depressed teenager!! and now i am a sad depressed adult, and i have different music i listen to, but this one still hits the same. damn. i'm such a sucker for a song that sounds happy and then you listen to the words and you're like fuck.

Ring 1 - Tower - The Dear Hunter ANTIMAI MY BELOVED. i cannot, for the life of me, decide which my absolute favourite song from the album is, because i love them all. but this one is definitely one of the top top faves. when the music slows down around the 2 minute mark?????? and the narrator in the song gets all smugly menacing?????????? and the instrumentals get all chill????????????? i simply die

Sword of Drossel - OSTER Project i think i found this track when i was in my late teens?? and then i forgot about it for a while, and then relatively recently (in the last 2 years) i had a sudden vocaloid nostalgia kick, and then i actually found this one on my streaming service and i was like oh shit???

man this was really fun!!!!! thank you again for the tag :D

i shall tag... @fangirling-phoenix @exilley @saiyanblood2 @bumble-b-goode @aboxthecolourofheartache @strawberry-hyacinth @mintchocolateleaves @artemisrockatansky @simplyaskeleton @skadren and anyone else who wants to do it!!!

#music #fingerguns #you would not believe how tempted i was to tag u again kim and honestly i kinda still want to #pass the potato but it's the tag game :joy:

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giggly-squiggily · 1 year

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Toy Capsules and Memories (Tokyo Revengers)

Two fics in one day who is she? ~ *sparkles as I flip my hair* A procrastinator~

Heyo! I was hit by a sudden burst of energy and also an onslaught of nostalgia and I am here to present to you all the result of said event! Really- I just wanted to write for Lee!Chifuyu. I hope y’all like it! :D

Summary: Chifuyu and Baji hang out on a lazy afternoon.

CW: Swearing

Cloud 9 (Taglist peeps)

@duckymcdoorknob @myreygn @baby-tickles2022 @cupcake-spice13

“Dude, how many times have you read that thing? It’s falling apart.”

Chifuyu hummed from behind his manga, thumbing the bent edges of the book. It was just as Baji said- falling apart. The spine was cracked from how many times he’d stretched it open- a lightning bolt of white crackling down the center. The cover had faded in time- what was once bright colors of the protagonist were now muted and dirty with dust. A corner of the manga was warped from the time he dropped it in the puddle- too caught up in a fight to care. It was Baji who saved it from its watery grave.

It was floppy and faded and the pages were yellowing, but Chifuyu didn’t have the heart to replace it or throw it away. It was special to him.

“What? It’s my first ever owned manga! It’s like an ancient relic!” Chifuyu argued halfheartedly, flipping a page- internally cringing when the paper beneath his thumb nearly tore. Okay. Maybe it was on its last leg.

Baji huffed, flopping down unceremoniously across Chifuyu’s stomach as he tried to get a glace at the name. “NANA? Pfft- of course you’d read something so girly.”

“Says the guy who religiously rewatches Carmen.” That earned him a jab to the belly, making him squirm with a snort.

“Watch it! Don’t you dare disrespect the work of Yuto Natori.” If the threat was real, Chifuyu couldn’t tell.

“Don’t disrespect the work of Ai Yazawa then.” Chifuyu replied, smug when he heard Baji grumble against him about this and that. He sounded tired, and his hair smelled nicer than usual. “Trying a new shampoo?” He asked, running a hand over the soft black locks.

“Eh, mom’s making me use it. Said I can’t keep using bar soap.” He twitched beneath Chifuyu’s fingers, not used to the affection. In retaliation he started tracing random shapes against the fluffier parts of Chifuyu’s hoodie, realigning the fur this way and that.

“B-Bar soap?” The shorter man twitched at the tickly feeling, trying not to move. Whether it was his intention or not, Baji was tickling him. “H-How the hell, d-dude?”

“I don’t know- I just did! I didn’t stink, and it was there.” Baji shrugged, lips twitching upward as he took in how tense the other was becoming beneath him. “She found out and gave me a whole lecture on how bad it was and how I’d go bald before I turn 18. So what if I do? I’ll get a cool tattoo on my head like Draken- maybe a growling dog or something.”

“Thahat sounds stuhuhpid!” Chifuyu giggled out, shooting down a hand and trying to grab Baji’s. “Yoohohu’d look funny!”

“Funny? Aren’t you the one who put that Little Pet thing on your face when we were in middle school? The little cat tattoo?” Baji dodged his hand, moving it to the space between their bodies and continuing to lightly trace against his hoodie. “You ran up to Draken showing it off thinking you were hot shit. I’ll never forget how hard he laughed at you.”

“You hahahhad one tohoohoho!” Chifuyu giggled, opting to shove at Baji’s shoulders now since he was so adamant on tickling him. “It was lihihihittlest pehehehhet shohohohops! Yohooohu alahahhaso had a cahhahahhat!”

“Oh yeah- that’s what those were. Heh, I still have that black cat you gave me.” Baji added another hand, poking lightly into his waist and increasing the giggles. “And don’t lump me in with you stupid- I at least put mine on my arm! No one saw it!”

“Mihihihiihkey dihihiihhid- waiihihit you still hahahahve it?” Chifuyu gasped out between giggle fits, feeling his cheeks pinken. He hadn’t realized Baji was so sentimental.

“Why do you sound so surprised? What- don’t tell me you lost the one I gave you? Oh now you’re gonna get it!” Baji went from light tracing to full on tickles now; clawing lightly at his stomach and making Chifuyu squeak. “Come on, Chifuyu! You can keep a zombified manga alive but you couldn’t keep that cream cat I gave you all those years ago? Shame, shame.”

“Bahahhahahahaji, hohohohoohld ohoohohohon!” Chifuyu squirmed about, twisting this way and that beneath his friend’s relentless fingers. “Hehehhahahhar mehehehehe ohooohuht- ahh nohohoohoho doohohohohn’t! His hands shot down to Baji’s as the other started to wiggle them up beneath his hoodie. “Dohohohohon’t tiihihihickle mehhehehhe thehehehhere!”

“Oh? And why not?” Baji grinned, easily pushing past the guarding hands, drumming his fingers against the warm skin. “Does it tickle too much?”

“Ahehahahahhhahahah! Bahahhahahhahajihihiihihihihi!” Chifuyu all but cackled, arching up with his head thrown back in laughter. With no way to guard, he reached out and grabbed Baji’s wrists, more or less holding them as they drummed a random beat along his skin. “Cohoohohohme ohoohohon, thahhahat’s no faihahahhai-AH Doohohohohon’t piihihihihinch mhiihihihiihi puhuhuuhuhuuhdge!”

“Tch, Chifuyu, we’ve talked about this.” Baji shook his head in mock disappointment, continuing to pinch and press into the softer spots on Chifuyu’s belly, making him squeal and thrash. “Your squish is great! Beyond great really. It makes it that much easier for me to tickle you!” He let one hand move up to the blonde’s ribs while the other shot the hoodie up more, exposing his belly to the world. “Still, if you insist on arguing with me on it…”

“Bahhahahaji, bahahahahji wahahahit doohoohn’t you dahhHAHHAHAHHARE!” Chifuyu all but shrieked as the other blew a raspberry against his belly, his hands dribbling into his sides and adding to the tickles. Chifuyu nearly felt himself go silent with how hard he was laughing, kicking his legs helplessly as he howled in mirth. His face was on fire, and it started to hurt with how hard he was smiling. “BAHAHHAHAHAJI PLEHAHHAHAHAHASE!” He whimpered out as he felt his lungs start to collapse.

“Hehe, okay okay.” Baji sat back up with a wolfish grin, eyes dancing. He gave Chifuyu’s belly a good smack before pulling down his hoodie, cackling at the pinch he earned in retaliation. “God, you sound so funny when you laugh!”

“Shuhuhuuht up…Iihiihi’ll get you back.” Chifuyu groaned, covering his face with his arms. A risky move- given it was Baji, but he felt the other flop down beside him, stretching out his limbs like a cat.

“Sure you will, ‘Fuyu.” He grinned at him when the other lowered his arms. “You say that all the time yet you’ve never quite done so.”

“Times are changing. Watch out for me.” Chifuyu stuck out his tongue before turning to look around the room. He was sure it was there…

“What are you?” Baji began before watching Chifuyu shoot up, running to the shelf.

“Here it is!” He cried cheerfully, flopping back in the bed as he held out his cupped hands. When he pulled them back…

~~~

“Hey hey, look at this!” Chifuyu called as he and Baji walked home. They had stayed late afterschool for tutoring- Baji was getting better, even at the slow pace he was going.

“What is it?” Said man called out, coming to stand beside Chifuyu as he looked inside the toy dispenser. “Oh, one of those ball machines.”

“No no, look!” Chifuyu pointed excitedly. Within the tiny capsules were little animals. The sign on the machine said ‘Littlest Pet Shops.’ “They have cats! Apparently you get a little figure and a tattoo of the animal. That’s so cute!”

“Cute?” Baji looked closer, not really getting it. “You really do think they’re cute?”

“Erm…yeah.” Chifuyu cleared his throat, the reality of what he probably looked like right now making him twitch. “I guess they’re pretty dumb though. It’s a machine for little kids, right? We don’t need to-”

“Oi, got 100 yen?” Baji tapped the price. Chifuyu felt his heart race.

“Erm…yeah. I do.” He pulled a yen coin, startingt to offer it to Baji. The brunette had already beat him to the punch, dropping in one of his own and giving the machine a twist. Out popped a capsule. With a grin, he tossed it to Chifuyu.

“There.” He nodded. “That’s for tutoring me.”

Chifuyu looked at it, eyes wide. “Wait…for me?”

“That’s what I just said.” Baji rolled his eyes. “Well come on- open it!”

“You first.” Chifuyu walked forward and deposited his own coin. Another capsule was released. He gave it to Baji. “Now we both have one.”

Baji took it gently, laughing to himself. “Well…alright. Ready?”

They opened their capsules to find…

~~~

“Man. You really did keep it.” Baji laughed to himself, eyes soft as he looked at the cream kitten toy in Chifuyu’s hands. Even today, it looked brand new. Nothing like his manga- it looked as if Chifuyu just won it out of the machine earlier that morning.

“Of course I did! How could I ever get rid of it?” Chifuyu smiled at it fondly, nostalgia touching his cheeks and eyes. “It was the first gift you’ve ever given me.”

“It was? Shit…” Baji looked away, hiding his burning face in his hair. “I was such a sap, man.”

“You still are.” Chifuyu laughed, avoiding Baji’s retaliating jab as he returned the cat to its rightful place. “But that’s what I like about you.”

“God, now you’re being sappy! Shut up with all this mush!” Baji ran a hand through his hair to hide his smile, failing miserably. Chifuyu snorted before flopping back into the bed beside him.

“Hey, ‘Fuyu. This is wild but- when we get older. Do you want to run a pet shop together?” Baji suddenly asked, making Chifuyu turn in surprise.

“A petshop? Like- with cats and dogs and hamsters and all that?” He felt himself getting excited at the idea.

“Heh, guess I didn’t need to worry about you hesitating. Yeah- we’ll even get snakes and shit.” Baji then shuddered, growing pale. “But no spiders. I hate spiders.”

“Yeah, definitely.” Chifuyu snickered, raising a hand with wiggling fingers. “Don’t want big bad Baji to pee himself everyday at work~”

“Oh you little shit- Come here!” Tickles returned; Chifuyu cackling helplessly beneath him once more. Eventually his mom would probably come in and tell them to keep it down, but they’d worry about that later.

For now, he was just happy to have Baji by his side.

Thanks for reading!

#Tokyo revengers #tickle #tickle fic #baji keisuke #chifuyu matsuno #fluff #written platonic but can be shippy if you squint #walking down memory lane #anyone else remember littlest pet shops?#I feel like Baji and Chifuyu would absolutely love those #especially the cats #I just had the urge to write today and I did it :D #tw: swearing

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crabknee · 3 months

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Crabs top 10 video game soundtracks

This here is a list of my top 10 favorite video game soundtracks from games I have played (for the purposes of this ranking, franchises will only have one spot on the list so I can't just fill the whole list with fire emblem)

10. Deemo

Deemo is this little obscure and niche rythm game that I have played on and off for many years now. The entire game is just a vibe, but the songs are all very awesome and there are SO MANY to pick from, it's honestly pretty surprising just how many bangers there are, taking into account the sheer amount of songs. My favorite will always be "Metal Hypnotised" even if it doesn't really match the vibe of the rest of the game.

9. Sly Cooper 2

Sly Cooper is a series from my childhood, I played this a lot back in the day so I have a lot of nostalgia for it. My favorite game in the series just so happens to be the second game which is filled with so many great tracks, ESPECIALLY the paris level. That's where all the good stuff is at, "Paris rooftops" especially is great for a nice chill theme, but I cannot deny that all the versions of the "Nightclub" track including "Nightclub", "Dimitri Battle" and "Following Dimitri" just cannot be beat.

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8. Hollow Knight

Hollow knight has some great music, especially for the bosses in the game. I really like the orchestral vibe and a lot of the boss music fits the fights very well. I really like that the music for the titular Hollow Knight has a bit of a sad vibe, it's a great song and it gets even better when you learn the lore of the guy. That said, I gotta shout out my guy Grimm with his awesome battle music "The Grimm Troupe" It just goes so hard and is so extra in the best way.

7. Splatoon 2

Splatoon 2 just has some great music in general, especially octo expansion, which I have been playing a little bit on and off recently. It's all just so unique and I haven't quite heard anything like it. It really is almost just it's own genre. Always gets me pumped and is very hard not to bop to. My favorite track is probably "Fly Octo Fly" but the others like "Calamari Inkantation" and "Bomb Rush Blush" also just slap so hard.

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6. Dark Souls

Every game in the Dark Souls series has great music, including Elden Ring and Bloodborne, but I have chosen the first game for my list because all of the music in that game is so iconic. The tracks are all so hauntingly beautiful and all fit the vibe of the game so well. It's all so melancholic in the best way. While "Gwyn, Lord of Cinder" always hits the feels and "Firelink Shrine" always makes me feel safe and nostalgic, I have chosen "Dark Sun Gwyndolin" not only because I love the guy, but because the theme itself is just so calm and haunting in a way I really enjoy.

5. Child of Light

A quaint little rpg with heavy fairy tale vibes, and the music heavily reflects this. It is such a beautiful soundtrack and I just can't help but love it, even if a lot of the melodies are the same. But come on! People have won figure skating competitions to these songs, you gotta love them. My favorite is definitely "Off to Sleep" that plays at the end of the game but "Final Breath", "Aurora's theme" and "Pilgrims on a long journey" all slap also, the last being the before mentioned figure skating song.

4. Fire Emblem

Now, am I cheating here by not picking a specific game? maybe. Do I care? no. Do you care? probably not, and if you do, bugger off! Anyway it had to be here, it's my favorite franchise ever and the music is great. My biggest problem is that it isn't on spotify and that I wasn't into fe when I listened to music on youtube and that's why it isn't higher. The music in all the games are hype as fuck but the highest points in the series are probably FeEchoes and Fe3h. My favorite track of all just so happens to be from echoes, that being the theme of the one and only Berkut, known as "Pride and Arrogance" It just fits him so well and it just goes so hard I cannot deny it it's spot here. "Lady of the Plains" is a classic tho and "Fodlan Winds" go hard as fuck.

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3. Shantae and the Pirate's Curse

Now, all the shantae games have fantastic music, but Pirates curse is just a cut above the rest imo. The vibes are great, they're mostly upbeat and are all fantastic, especially all music from zombie island. I also have a lot of old great memories with this series which also helps quite a bit tbf. I mentioned zombie island and that's because they have three great tracks in "Rave in the Grave", "Run, Run Rottytop" and "Rottytops", while I love all, I am choosing rave in the grave here, but do feel free to listen to the others, and also just the rest of the ost, they're all bangers.

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2. Katana Zero

An absolutely fantastic soundtrack to an absolutely fantastic game, the general vibe (idk what to call it, synth maybe? for most of it?) is just fantastic for this game specifically and there is just such a wide variety of emotions and vibes that this collection encompasses. My favorite however that I keep coming back to however is "Rain on Brick" the title theme, it is just so fantastically melancholic in exactly the way I need it to be, I will however also recommend you to go listen to sneaky driver, that is also a great track.

Oneshot

And it's not even close, this soundtrack is so damn good it's the only thing I listened to for, like, at least a week after I finished the game and I still listen to it regularly. The whole album for the soundtrack is my go to study music, my comfort playlist has 32 songs and 6 of them are from oneshot and I could definitly add more AND I'm pretty sure that the track called "Niko and the World Machine" is in my top 3 songs listened to of all time, that said the song I have decided to show you is the song called "Eleventh Hour" which is also very great.

#Honorable mentions go to the kirby games and the pokemon games #Also Turnip boy commits tax evasion and monster sanctuary #they're also great #Crabs rankings #<-new tag for all things ratings #stuff like top 10 lists and stuff

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allsadnshit · 2 years

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I think part of the reason I have had such a hard time emotionally processing the ends to a lot of the relationships that I had is that I have a really difficult time holding boundaries, and everyone who used to be in my life knew that well and took full advantage of it. I can be really explosive and decisive, but I tend to not follow through or hold onto those ideas even when are raw and fueled by a lot of personal meaning. I struggle to assert and believe myself, and although my sense of self is strong I am easily persuaded because I also feel deeply empathetic and genuinely forgiving. it’s like I used to constantly recognize the way the people in my life didn’t honor our relationship or my boundaries and they knew, and i knew, that no matter how upset i got i always ended up softening because I wanted to be an understanding person. I wanted to be what I wanted to see in the world, but to a point where it wasn’t healthy and I was self sacrificing in situations where I needed to have honored myself and my own peace.

Something changed in me when I got really sick. When things ended or catastrophic relationship shifts occurred, I suddenly couldn’t allow myself to push forward anymore. I don’t know if it was inner strength, or because I was finally too tired to keep giving myself to anyone who asked. The people in my life even expressed how surprised they were I was standing firm on my choices, and not looking back. It was something they hadn’t seen me do, and something I had forgotten I even knew how to do. I am someone who gets really wrapped up in wanting to be liked, and when I hit that breaking point with myself something snapped and my self sacrificing nature dissipated quietly and everyone wondering where it went. I didn’t realize how much my relationships had been relying on this part of myself that could be swayed simply by the passing of time wearing down my resolve, or nostalgia begging me to take a harder look at the good times before making a decision about the bad.

I don’t think its about which version of me is “better”. It’s about how those version of myself and their key difference drastically changed what my standards for love were, inward and outward. It felt like the people who had relied on my flimsy sense of boundaries were throwing temper tantrums when I would do things as simple as hold onto a “no” that they used to be able to wait out. I didn’t become an angrier person, I didn’t say anything harsh just to hurt some feelings. I actually mostly felt disappointed seeing so many of my relationships unravel at the first sign of consequence. I hadn’t realized how reliant my friends were on me changing my mind any time they nudged me hard enough in the direction they wanted me to go.

Deep down I think my mind body and soul knew I couldn’t take it anymore. I think it was something born out of necessity, not bitterness or anger. I was cracking and it just hit me after enough pain that it was my own approach to those relationships that was upsetting me the most. My friends had always been the way they were, we all have faults and we knew that. But it was my decision to learn about self love and how we can’t trick ourselves into happy relationships that flipped a switch in my mind. If someone explains themselves and it doesn’t make any sense, that’s it. It never was my job to keep twisting myself trying to make everything work when it didn’t. I knew it was me who had changed, not them, because of how they looked at me surprised when “no” stayed “no” even was time passed and they lashed out in anger, sadness, and everything in between.

I used to think I had to show so much rawness to convince anyone of how I felt and what I needed. When I realized that I was the only person who had to be convinced, it made everything weirdly straight forward. It’s like the idea of “let people misunderstand you if that’s what they are set on doing”. I have always felt so uncomfortable with being disliked or misrepresented that I would ignore my own boundaries and needs to better fit with the people around me and it was just as abruptly shocking to me as it was to them when I finally stopped and was unable to keep squeezing myself into the space they made for me and I had always accepted.

How I treated myself was my problem, and it was everyone else’s solution. It is up to me to learn from these experiences, and no one has to be happy for me. But it is a really strange feeling. I honestly hope everyone gets to have it.

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blehworld · 2 years

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the eclipse series: a review

i will forever love this series and it’s characters. it will be hard to let them go and i will surely come back to them for comfort or nostalgia. i will miss the eclipse fridays, the community built around it and coming here to spend hours reading everyone’s breakdowns and theories.

the incredible cast! (best thing about the series)

first and khaotung as the main leads;

two amazingly talented actors with great real-life chemistry, that translated beautifully into akk and ayan. the dynamic that they created for akkayan, their micro-expressions and eye acting elevated this series! they’re amazing at the emotional, the dramatic, the serious, the fluff, the suggestive, …i hope to see more of them together. gmmtv hit gold with them, finding two actors that match so well. they have what it takes to surprise us with a completely different concept and story. i look forward to see them separately too, as i’ve enjoyed their previous roles and have seen the evolution and range of their individual talent.

neo and louis as the secondary couple;

i had already seen them together in futs, where they were very cute. i had also seen neo, in a couple of other shows. it was interesting seeing their duality. neo being usually a comic relief character, got to show a more serious and tough side, while louis went from loud and clingy, to reserved and distant. i’m curious of what more they can offer as a pairing, and would certainly support them as a main couple. they’ve said that they want to continue working together so, will gmmtv make them stay as a secondary couple forever?

ploy, pawin and aj;

they did great in their roles for the little time they had for onscreen development; as the conflicted young new teacher that chooses to compromise, the misguided kid that wants to be included and belong, and, as the conflicted student with big dreams of becoming an indie movie director, respectively. i think it’s time that aj gets a main role (maybe with ploy? they seemed to be pushing them together a lot). he really impressed me in ep 11 when he was mad at akk, there was something in his eyes, i’d like for him to explore that. i’d seen all three of them before in other projects and they’re pretty consistent.

pak, tee and petch: the world remembers gang a.k.a. the youth rights club;

i loved them. they were the strong ones, the victims all along and who did nothing wrong! they wanted what's best for everyone. they deserve the world! the actors played them delightfully. a series centered around them would be incredible! they were never used for laughs. the show always took them seriously and so did the characters, and i am so thankful for that! this is unfortunately not the standard in bl series.

the adults: p’yai, p’sine, p’iang, p’jum and p’ron;

the “adult” actors that stood out were teachers waree and chadok, and the principal. they were incredibly intimidating, and played great antagonists. i loved to hate them. i have questions about their characters, though that has nothing to do with the actors, like: did waree believe in the curse? was the principal a teacher for chadok, the same way he was for akk? did the principal allow all those changes to suppalo after chadok resigned? and more…. i liked aye’s mother, and was hopping to see more of her. i also enjoyed uncle dika’s performance. we saw him only as flashbacks from different characters’ eyes, and he succeeded in transmitting every good thing that they thought of him.

the plot

the idea of showing a school as an allegory for a nation isn’t new, but it always has great potential, and i believe that they hit the spot many times! it wasn’t necessarily innovative, but it was brave. a courageous story to tell, from it’s preproduction and it’s crew, to the social commentary and political messages at its core, verbalized mostly by the world remembers gang and ayan.

the mystery wasn’t perfectly managed, but it also wasn’t really the focus of the series. it was largely the background for these characters to exist and these relationships to develop. however, it did keep me guessing at times and asking different questions, that were later answered, one way or another.

the diversity of queer representation

my favorite thing about this show was the different types of lgbt+ journeys:

akk who seemed to be only starting it, who was so scared and repressed to be himself. his economic background already made him stand out in the school, he didn’t need to also not be “normal”.

ayan who had already fully and confidently accepted who he was, thanks to his uncle and mother who were so supportive of him.

the 3jums who never really had the choice to hide, so they owned who they were and fought for their (and everyone’s) right of self expression.

kan who knew but wasn’t sure, tried to repress it because society made him think that it wasn’t okay to feel what he felt.

thua who was out, not explicitly by choice. he couldn’t hide it, but he could make himself small, take as little space as possible, to the point of never speaking up, so he would be ignored.

chadok, who unfortunately lost his fiancé because of his own fear of standing up for himself. he chose the same antiquated system that had already hurt him so much for years, the system that doomed his lover, over his own freedom.

the cinematography and technical aspects

they didn’t have much budget, but the plot didn’t really demand it. the direction was purposeful and the cinematography was skillful; there were some very beautiful shots throughout the series. the symbolism of the eclipse always very present, sometimes quite obviously, but often subtle and organic. technically it was well done, with deliberate lightning and the sound being better than most bls. there were some small continuity errors, the biggest imo being the hair lenghts changing between some scenes.

however the writing;

as a whole (mostly the last two episodes) the writing was somewhat underwhelming, not meeting my initial expectations, nor the potential of the series… while most of the elements to make this series exceptional were there, what really affected the quality of the writing —not saying that it was otherwise perfect, but it was good enough— was that 12 EPISODES WERE NOT ENOUGH TIME!

this story, these characters, these conflicts needed, at least, a few more episodes to develop and come to a conclusion, at most, dividing everything into two seasons.

the pacing of the first 10 episodes was so pleasing to me. it gave me AND the characters, enough time to examine their feelings and talk through them. it focused on how the environment and the interactions in it affected the characters! we saw them exist in their world and with each other, without anything being rushed. it felt natural, i loved it.

but we lost this in episode 11. it was just revelation after revelation, leaving no time for the viewer, nor the characters, to process what was going on. unfortunately with one episode left, there wasn’t much they could do. so they ended up skipping what had once been their main focus; the internal emotional journey of the characters.

episode 12 was cute and fun;

i loved that we got to see akk come out to his parents, as well as him and ayan introducing themselves as a couple to them. those are important moments in the lgbt+ journey! especially for a teen.

i loved to see how after being finally out, the freedom akk felt was visible not only in his relationship with ayan, but also in his face and his whole existence.

i loved all the moments between akk and ayan; the rooftop scene, the pool side scene, everything at the beach and in akk’s room, the little classroom exchange, the —in the words of a twitter moot— mutual pinning,

i loved the full circle moments of opening and closing the series on the red boat, and, the school bathroom scene with the hoodies. these showed growth, making us think back at how akk was and felt at the beginning vs now; and how akk and ayan were and felt when they met vs now.

BUT

it brushed over the huge revelations of the previous episode and so the build up of the whole series fell flat.

the apology to the world remembers was one sentence each? i said it before, they deserved apologies and reparations! i needed akk to officially apologise to them, as well as thua, the prefects, ayan, all the students, and the teachers, too. i did like how akk wasn’t expecting to be forgiven.

actually, within the friend group, no one really apologized to one another. i wanted group therapy full of tears and apologies.

the outing was not addressed (as expected, but i had a slimmer of hope).

the changes to the school (although great) felt unearned… we didn’t see who made this changes and why? it just, felt weird to shove them in a couple of minutes at the end of the episode, when the school and its antiquated system were the main villain of the series! the change of heart of teacher waree also was too sudden.

i wanted to see a serious conversation between kan and thua about everything. i wanted thua to acknowledge his wrongdoings the way akk got to do, multiple times, with ayan. i wanted to see kan be there for him while he went through it. i needed this for closure with their characters and their relationship. these posts by heretherebedork go further into this better than i can. honestly, thua’s character as a whole felt very abandoned to me. they hinted at him having a possibly abusive stepfather, but then it was dropped. they showed us signs mental health struggles, with him wanting to disappear (did i imagine that?), they dropped it too. his friendship with ayan, or whatever they had going, was also dropped at some point. i think that, with him, they focused too much on kan, and not enough on thua as an individual. he’s the only main character that didn’t really grow and learn? everyone else ended different than they started.

WHAT WAS TEACHER SANI DOING AT THE BEACH WITH THEM, THEY WERE DRINKING? she traveled with them all the way to akk’s house… i was scared until the las second that she and wat would have a thing.

the ending felt a little too “coming of age” teen movie. not very fitting when the series touched on quite serious and heavy topics. i don’t mean the happy ending, i mean the way it’s was all so quickly wrapped up and summarized. i half expected the voice over to name each character and what they became. “after graduation, wat became a big name in the indie film scene; the world remembers gang became youth leaders for the community; kan and thua decided to adopt singto and moved in together; and as for me and ayan, he’s thinking of studying political sciences, to no one’s surprise. me, i don’t know yet what i want to do with my life, but that’s okay! for now we are taking some time off and traveling the world together, as boyfriends…”

closing comment:

all in all, i thoroughly enjoyed this series; the talented actors and lgbt+ diverse journeys being the main pull. a lot of work was obviously put into writing (most of) the characters, but the plot was underdeveloped. there was a weird tone and pace shift between the last three episodes, and i want to attribute that to a time issue. sincerely, i would not want to sacrifice the pacing of the first 10 episodes, for parts of 11 and 12 to feel less rushed. it needed additional episodes, not a faster pace.

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shihalyfie · 2 years

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Any thoughts regarding Survive? Personally I felt it went a little too hard on the “what if adventure was dark?” vibes towards the 1st half, but I overall still think it was a solid experience. As well as being genuinely surprised they were allowed to go that hard at all, because even if the cyber sleuth games had more mature elements, this kicks it past what most series with the same target audience would be willing to do

I'm already working on a meta post about it! (It's just that because it's a completely new work I haven't had experience analyzing before, the post is taking a very long time to prep, especially since my real-life job has not been kind to me. I did write a warning on the blog earlier that this might happen, but I do want to cover it even if it takes me a while.) That said, the meta is turning out to be extremely spoilery, so I might as well kind of give my short-form opinions for now, since I know most people haven't finished all four routes yet.

Obviously I am more than a little biased because I do love Cyber Sleuth/Hacker's Memory (the Erika icon probably makes that clear already), but I generally have a good opinion of the game pipeline's attempts to appeal to an adult audience without sinking into needless edginess or sacrificing what makes people like in this series. So even if Survive might have occasionally toed into overkill, it never felt malicious towards Adventure -- that is to say, it was something clearly done with love towards it and wanting to experiment with it further, and not "Adventure was a kiddy series that never did anything dark so here we're going to do some real vicious stuff!" As long as I feel it was done with love and respect, I will always cut it slack, and in regards to the game's Adventure references, I absolutely do not think you could make something like this unless you really knew and understood Adventure. This is not using Adventure things for nostalgia references, this is something that's in many ways a love letter to Adventure (even if that sounds a little twisted to some). I mean, the entire game exists because the producer was so thoroughly enamored by Kakudou's concept of Adventure Digimon as youkai, so everything has really come out of genuine love and passion.

In fact, I imagine it must have been hard to keep the game as tasteful as it was, because the game covers a lot of concepts regarding Digimon evolution and partnership that fans have been wanting to see explored for years but would never have been able to see because of the Sunday morning kids' show timeslot restrictions. And I have seen fanfic that often covers that, and trust me, I have seen how malicious and needlessly edgy a lot of it threatens to get into, so I appreciate the game putting clear effort to not go that way. And even when the game went all the way and didn't hold back, it definitely felt warranted and thought through. I was also worried about whether the kids' mental health problems or deaths would be treated in a fetishizing manner, but for the most part each character felt like they were treated respectfully and with kindness. I was a little startled at how nuanced they were with framing one particular character as toxic and yet also pitiful (I won't say which one yet, but if you've played the game you can probably figure this out).

I would not recommend the game to everyone. I think the content is going to be a bit too much to stomach for some, I even worry it might hit some triggers for some, and I'm also well aware the gameplay style is not going to sit well with everyone. But as you said, the game is genuinely ambitious and I think that alone deserves credit. The devs were well aware that not everyone would like it, and they've said this publicly, but it's a well-known fact among creatives that trying to constantly please the greatest common denominator is only going to result in the most lukewarm, play-it-safe stuff all of the time, so I'm glad they were willing to take the risk. In regards to the fact they were willing to go that hard, well, it is a T-rated game after all, but I also think there are some ways Ghost Game's physical and psychological horror can be even more brutal. It's ironic in that I don't think these two horror-based works were intended to come out together, but somehow Ghost Game's simultaneous running probably made me see Survive as much less shocking than I really could have.

The gameplay is a bit rough-around-the-edges when it comes to its SRPG aspects; it was fine enough for me, but I imagine more seasoned gamers might be turned off. (Cyber Sleuth/Hacker's Memory was not exactly the paragon of well-designed RPG gameplay either, but considering the kind of really, really bad games this franchise has put out, any Digimon game that's even remotely playable instantly qualifies as one of the franchise's top 15 games.) If I have any major story complaints, it's mostly that I'm not too fond of the actual handling of the route system (the fact so much of it is unskippable repeated content and the fact there’s a blatantly intended order for the routes that it's too easy to not follow by accident), and that this game reuses Adventure's "Digimon partners are literally part of a human's soul" thing but doesn't go nearly enough (at least, for my tastes) into how potentially disturbing that could be for said partners' lack of autonomy. (This is consistently one of the biggest criticisms of the Adventure/02 universe compared to other Digimon works, and I was able to let it go there because it's not concretely brought up in the series and therefore the potential power imbalance never gets as bad as it could be, but here it absolutely is a major plot point that's brought up verbally several times.)

And the localization sucks. I know this goes without saying, and Cyber Sleuth/Hacker's Memory's still makes me wince, and I really should have anticipated this coming, especially since even recently we had Kizuna getting a trainwreck translation (and The Beginning's prospects already looking bad in this regard). But Crunchyroll's recent Digimon subs, especially Ghost Game, have been very comparatively good, so I was hoping...but alas, no, we can't have nice things.

But that's enough for today. I'll talk more when I have a more detailed post (I would appreciate it if you checked it out once I finish!), but the tl;dr is that I like it a lot, I really respect how much it clearly understood Adventure on a very substantial and intimate level in ways things often don't, and I'm overall very happy to add it to my library of Digimon things I like.

#digimon #digimon survive #shiha's ask box #jollyshitshow

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atmymercy · 10 months

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Hey! I'm here for the game. My question is how will my first meeting with my FS be like. Thanks a lot and have a great day/night! -HPBY

hello hpby! welcome to the giveaway! and thank you! i hope you have a good night too!

for you, i got the devil, 6 of cups & 3 of cups.

ooh! okay! so it looks like you're going to meet your future spouse in a bar! i'm seeing some people being a little naughty and drinking! lol that's okay! this human form is made for fun as well! so yeah i'm seeing you connecting with old, good friends and having a great time. for sure a nostalgia hit coming in through this night. lots of laughs and good drinks and you two see each other and it's like that moment where everything goes to tunnel vision and you'll wonder at first like omg, am i drunk??? and worried you have a little too much fun when you see them and they see you and it's just like you really are too drunk but in the best way, where the room is going to spin a little and you're going to both feel a little unsteady on your feet. i wouldn't be surprised if one of you gets weak in the knees for sure! if either of you are standing so be careful! we don't want you two hitting your heads on the way down! lol haha for sure a cupid's arrow and hit and struck hard! lolol

hope you enjoyed it! please give feedback or buy me a coffee/tip when you can! if you want to explore this further, please also consider a private read. also thank you for sharing with me!♡

love & light!

-tea

♡ message me for details/questions & to book a reading! ♡

#tea tarot reading #love tarot reading #love tarot free #future spouse reading #future spouse tarot #future spouse #tarot reading #tarot witch #tarot reader #tarot #tarot read #tarot cards #tarotcommunity #divination #i love tarot #tarotblr #tarot readings #mysweetessvalentine

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carnelianwings · 1 year

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Harvestella Review

Short version: Fantastic OST, compelling story, inclusive gender options (you can choose Male, Female, or Nonbinary for your self insert protagonist), 9/10 would recommend.

(Long version behind the cut)

Long version: If you go into this game expecting 50+% farm sim and the remainder is action-adventure JRPG, you'll be disappointed. Based on where I am - as of the writing of this review I've completed the Main Story and I'm working on the Epilogue - the game is more like 70% JRPG, 30% farm sim. If I were to describe the game, it would be like taking a Star Ocean or a Tales game, deciding that the item crafting/cooking system wasn't ~enough with farming monsters for drops, and making it literal farming. You want money? You mainly get it by sending things off in your Shipping Box, with some supplemental income via side quests. You want healing? You gotta eat for that ... which uses ingredients from the crops you farm. But even if managing the farm eats up your time, the game is very well paced for that - the opening chapters go in seasonal order (starting in Spring) and I had plenty of time to both finish a chapter of the main story for the town themed after that season and completing all the side quests while doing farm "chores" every morning. Story is amazing, in my opinion. If you like Star Ocean's (especially SO3) or Tales' (namely Graces) storytelling, this will be right up your alley - I happen to love both, so there were points where I just Could Not Stop Playing. All I will say is don't let the first 3 chapters lull you into thinking this is a typical fantasy JRPG, if you do the side quests and pay attention, you'll quickly realize there's a lot more to the world building that meets the eye (that will also become significant as you keep going in the game). Also, Go Shiina's work on the OST is fantastic, really goes well with the story to help make the emotional hits hit harder, while giving you all the hype for boss battles. (SqEnix, free the OST from Japanese iTunes jail already, let me give you money for it!) I'd comment more on the story, but it's hard to say much about what I loved about the story without spoiling it - the late game reveals were really good and I loved every moment of it. Probably helped a lot that Aria's my favorite out of all the party members. Lack of voiced story dialogue wasn't actually a big deal to me, but I played a lot of 90s JRPGs that weren't voiced so it was a bit of a nostalgia trip in that sense. Combat is pretty straight forward, nothing truly special there, if anything I wish that "dash" Step skill wasn't a skill reserved just for melee classes but just a default combat maneuver (how old school action RPG of them - reminds me of the older Tales games where you had to unlock Backstep as a skill), There's some room for finesse, but a significant contributor to how well you do in fights is how well have you managed your farm (for in-combat healing/food buffs and how much money you have for weapon upgrades) and how much have you gotten to know your party members (for combat buffs/class skills). If you're like me and kept up with the farm and did every character story (you get prompts in-game in the form of letters) you'll probably be fine. If anything, combat's pretty much where I took a point off - it's pretty straightforward, but in my opinion this isn't a game you should be buying for the combat system, you should be buying it for the story. Customization is pretty basic (iirc just hair color and a few other simple things), but since I'd gone into this completely blind (I didn't even read a single review, just thought it looked interesting based on the Steam page) I wasn't expecting anything to begin with so it was more like a pleasant surprise to get the choice to have a few cosmetic changes. I like that they included nonbinary as a gender option - I know that alone got a friend of mine interested in the game. Personally I like the default outfit and I like how your outfit changes in combat to match your current class by adding in a "signature" aspect of the corresponding party member's outfit, but that's a YMMV. Overall, a fantastic game, one best played with as few expectations going in as possible, beyond knowing that it's a story-heavy JRPG with a fantastic OST and a side of farm sim. YMMV if you think it's worth it at full price, but in my opinion, definitely worth it on sale.

#harvestella #review #i can't remember the last time I stayed up until 3 am playing a game and went oops #and i did that multiple times with harvestella either as a One More Day or I Need To Know What Happens Next #definitely one of the best games i've played recently #sqenix messed up on marketing this as a farm sim with a side of jrpg #it's definitely a jrpg with a side of farm sim #the focus is the story not the farm sim

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shadowetienne · 2 years

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GPF (and JGPF) 2022 Predictions (and Dream Podiums)

I’ve been enjoying this season a lot so far, though I’ve not watched every single competition all the way through the way I have some years. The results have been not entirely predictable (mostly in a good way), and there have been some interesting new faces in Junior and Senior competitions.

I’m going to take a stab at my predictions for the podiums of the GPF and JGPF and also my dream podiums. It will be interesting to see how these competitions turn out as a lead in to the second half of the season!

Men

Predicted Podium

Shoma Uno JPN

Illia Malinin USA

Kao Miura JPN

I really do think that 3rd is wide open and 1st and 2nd will be between Shoma and Illia. I am putting Shoma above Illia in my predictions based on experience and consistency. Any mistake on a big element that Illia makes hits him hard, Shoma carries his scores with a more even distribution. But either order between the two of them wouldn’t surprise me.

Dream Podium

Shoma Uno JPN

Illia Malinin USA

Sota Yamamoto JPN

Overall, I would honestly be happy with just about any arrangement that has Shoma on the podium (preferably in first). There is a deep nostalgia about this field for me of having Shoma and Sota skating together on GPF ice again though, and I would love to see Sota podium. The only way I see Illia not on the podium is if he has a disaster of a skate, and I do not wish that on him at all. He’s an endearing kid, and I’m glad that he seems to be working on improving the artistic side of his skating.

Women

Predicted Podium

Kaori Sakamoto JPN

Mai Mihara JPN

Loena Hendrickx BEL

Honestly, there is so little spread in this field when it comes to top scores this season. So much is going to depend on who has a good day and who doesn’t. Definitely keeps things interesting! I genuinely enjoy the skating of all of these skaters, and I hope that they all skate well.

Dream Podium

Kaori Sakamoto JPN

Kim Yelim KOR

Rinka Wantanabe JPN

Honestly, I’d be pretty happy with any podium. I want to see Kaori win this, partially because I don’t want to see her rattled from her 2nd place at her last major competition. I also just love her skating. Honestly, 3rd I dithered so much between Rinka and Mai, but I have been really deeply enjoying Rinka’s skating this season!

Pairs

Predicted Podium

Riku Miura / Ryuichi Kihara JPN

Alexa Knierim / Brandon Frazier USA

Deanna Stellato-Dudek / Maxime DesChamps CAN

If you’d told me a few years ago that I would be putting a Japanese pair as my extremely strong favorite for winning the GPF in pairs, I would have been surprised, but Miura/Kihara have been so impressive this season! And I don’t know that there’s anyone in this field who can challenge them if they skate clean.

Dream Podium

Riku Miura / Ryuichi Kihara JPN

Rebecca Ghilardi / Filippo Ambrosini ITA

Emily Chan / Spencer Akira Howe USA

I think that realistically, the Italian and American pair I have here don’t have... that much chance at the podium outside of 3rd, but there’s a big race for third and not a huge amount in the scores after the drop off from Knierim/Frazier. Knierim/Frazier are fine and deserve their scores, but their skating doesn’t really resonate for me, so I’m more excited about some of the other pairs. Honestly though, Miura/Kihara on top of the podium is my big wish, and I think that it’s pretty likely to happen.

Ice Dance

Predicted Podium

Piper Gilles / Paul Poirier CAN

Charlene Guinard / Marco Fabbri ITA

Madison Chock / Evan Bates USA

Honestly, other than Gilles/Poirier having a great season so far, there’s not a lot in the scores between teams. There could easily be a lot of surprises in this podium (and Gilles/Poirier aren’t so far ahead that a single major mistake couldn’t shake things up). It’s interesting for sure! There’s only one team here that I think doesn’t have a huge shot for the podium (Hawayek/Baker, even though they’re one of my favorites here), and even for them, it’s not out of reach necessarily.

Dream Podium

Charlene Guinard / Marco Fabbri ITA

Piler Gilles / Paul Poirier CAN

Kaitlin Hawayek / Jean-Luc Baker USA

My biggest wish is honestly for a 3 country podium! I’d be pretty happy with any arrangement of skaters that gives me that, and I think that there’s a pretty good chance at us getting it (a 2 CAN team podium is probably the biggest possibility between us and that). There aren’t any teams here that I dislike, and I want to see everyone skate their best. I’d love to see Guinard/Fabbri win though because I’ve really enjoyed their skating for a long time, and it’s great to see them doing really well this season!

Junior Men

Predicted Podium

Takeru Amine Kataise JPN

Nikolaj Memola ITA

Robert Yampolsky USA

One of the things about Juniors is that they are dramatically unpredictable. I am not confident at all in this prediction, though this podium in some order wouldn’t surprise me based on their skating and scores so far this season.

Dream Podium

Takeru Amine Kataise JPN

Nikolaj Memola ITA

Shunske Nakamura JPN

Honestly, that first place for Takeru is the one that I really care about; his skating is beautiful, and I’m looking forward to seeing more of it! None of the others here were people who hugely stood out to me. I’m putting Shunske in third for my dream podium because he’s the only person here other thank Takeru and Nikolaj whose programs I actually remember watching (even though I know I’ve watched all of them at least once this season).

Junior Women

Predicted Podium

Mao Shimada JPN

Hana Yoshida JPN

Shin Jia KOR

Third seems to be wide open, and no one here is unbeatable, though if Mao Shimada skates her full content, she’s going be very hard to beat. I really liked all of these skaters on the JGP circuit this year, and I think that it will be interesting to see how they progress, especially getting a little longer to spend in Juniors.

Dream Podium

Mao Shimada JPN

Shin Jia KOR

Kwon Minsol KOR

I picked my favorite programs of the set. There’s not that much chance of Minsol making the podium, but she is such a joy to watch, and really what I love about watching juniors (the fun of it, the joy and exuberance of skating that so rarely makes to the senior circuit). Mao’s got a lot of that too, and I am looking forward to both of them so much as they develop as skaters over the next few years. I like ever single skater here though, and I’m not going to be disappointed with just about any podium arrangement.

Junior Pairs

Predicted Podium

Anastasia Golubeva / Hektor Giotopoulus Moore AUS

Sophia Baram / Daniel Tiomentsev USA

Violetta Sierova / Ivan Khobta UKR

Based on scores so far this season, it is very likely going to be these three teams in this order. This is a place where there’s a pretty wide spread of scores qualifying, but also juniors can be extremely unpredictable. Did someone have a growth spurt? That could throw things off immensely? They’re also developing and growing fast, so we could see a huge tech jump from one of the teams that has been scoring lower. This is part of the fun of juniors.

Dream Podium

I’m just going to leave it open here. If there aren’t any major tech leaps, I probably would have it with my predicted podium just because I want everyone to skate well, and that’s probably what it will be if there are no major tech changes and everyone skates clean. I would love to see Sierova/Khobta have the tech jump to put them in first because they’re probably my favorites in this field!

Junior Ice Dance

Predicted Podium

Katerina Mrazkova / Daniel Mrazek CZE

Nadiia Bashynka / Peter Beaumont CAN

Hannah Lim / Ye Quan KOR

This, like pairs, is a field with a pretty wide point spread. Unless there are major tech improvements or someone makes major errors, I expect that one and two will be between Mrazkova/Mrazek and Bashynka/Beaumont. Third is more wide open, but this is juniors, juniors are unpredictable.

Dream Podium

Like with pairs, I’m leaving this open. I like all of the teams on my predicted podium, and I want to see everyone skate clean. It’s always exciting to see juniors with tech breakthroughs though, so it would be cool to see someone place higher than I’m expecting with everyone skating clean.

#figure skating #personal #grand prix final 2022 #predictions #and dream podiums #I'm looking forward to seeing how this goes

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owlixx · 6 months

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Call of Duty Classic Mid-Thoughts (US Campaign Done):

Surprised to see this one has aiming down sights. Having 4 “weapons” to switch between is cumbersome. No regenerating health is cumbersome. Glad I picked the easy difficulty. Menu is hilariously old-fashioned. The end of level fade to black is so funny to me. The short short levels and long long load screens are to funny to me. Seems like automatic weapons are way better. I am relying heavily on aim assist. No sprinting is rough. I miss hitmarkers. Ammo management is weird in this game, like all the spare bullets disappear if you drop a gun and then pick it back up.

I am enjoying the brisk pace, I was able to beat the USA portion of the game in a single sitting which is a third of the game, didn’t even take 2 hours I think. Melee feels weak. Pistols feel pointless and I haven’t used grenades much yet. Did get stuck for a bit because one enemy was alive hiding while I made my way to the actual objective but I needed to go back and kill him to progress the plot. So funny seeing Captain Price here!!!

So far my favorite parts have been the mansion raid because it was at least a distinct environment and the timed prison raid because it felt more like I was in an action movie. The mounted machine guns are so hard to use. Scopes are useless if you ever get shot at even a little which sucks because it’s the only way to take out mounted machine guns sometimes but they can hit you from a mile

away. Bad game design: the combo of being forced to drop a gun to pick up a single used rocket launcher plus losing all spare ammo when dropping and then picking up a gun again.

It’s just so funny to me that this released on PS360 when it did (2009) for 20 bucks or bundles with MW2. It’s clearly a pretty low effort port of a game no one was particularly nostalgic for, and it starts the trend of weird remasters in this series along with Modern Warfare Remastared and Modern Warfare 2 Campaign Remastered, although you could argue that MW, WaW, BO1, MW2, MW3 on Wii are kind of separate versions along with the weird PS2 spin-offs of 1/2/WaW or even the DS ports but I’d argue that CoD Classic and MW1/2D stand alone as a kind of unique thing. It’s an interesting series, trying to balance nostalgia with yearly releases that almost always obsolesce the previous one, with the identity of the series staked around each release being the most up to date and feature complete despite never quite being that. But you can’t look backwards without releasing a game that feels horribly out of date.

Actually, I did also enjoy the trench hopping section and using the M1 Garand (complete with signature ping and no manual reload). Also funny to me that there even is a fire mode select in this game. The Thompson and MP40 seem like a waste to set to single fire, while the FG42 seems worthless on full audio. The BAR weirdly lets you set slow or fast auto? But the slow does the job fine for me. Kar98k is pretty clunky and unsatisfying in this game with or without a scope. M1a1 is…fine, kind of baseline weapon imo. pistol worthless. So far the MP40 is goated just because it’s auto and I can find ammo for it reliably.

UI is hilariously clunky. The giant compass isn’t super helpful. Won’t see a health bar again for a while, I think. The on-rail mission was…fine.

STEVE BLUM! My beloved :) just checked IMDb and Jason Statham is in this???

It is so funny to have seen this game on Xplay when I was watching old episodes of it recently where they seriously are talking about it for game of the year and lauding it when now it has aged so poorly. It’s not offensive or anything, it’s just terribly middling for what it is. It really takes something like Half Life to still be remotely worth playing 20 years later as a single player FPS of this era, and that’s a pretty high bar. I think even just waiting until the PS360 gen results in loads of quality FPSes like Bioshock, Wolfenstein TNO, Far Cry 2-3, Rage, Dishonored. Although I’d argue that Halo 1-2 age far better than the early CoD titles of that generation but again, that’s a high bar to clear.

There is an expansion pack for this game, United Offensive, but I’ll be skipping it since it isn’t available on consoles of any kind and would be kind of a hassle to get going on PC and doesn’t interest me anyways and there’s still so many games left to play. Of all the QoL things I miss most from the newer games, I think regenerating health is the most sorely needed here, so I definitely don’t want a whole expansion pack of scrounging for health kits. It’s the kind of thing that you either don’t notice at all when the game is giving you enough health kits or it becomes a huge pain to backtrack while trying to take out a machine gun nest.

I do hope this game introduces some more varied weapons in the British and Russian campaigns because so far there’s not much, which admittedly makes sense given that we’ve only seen US and German weapons.

I will admit that the idea of playing 1, 2, 3, WaW, plus 3 last gen spin-offs all set in WW2 is a little alarming. I feel like I’ll be ready to go back once we hit WWII and Vanguard but yikes that’s a lot of WW2 back to back. On the other hand, I think that is super funny and I love the idea of tracking each of the famous guns from game to game and seeing them evolve in real time as a great litmus test of how these games and gaming overall developed during this kind of pivotal time before, during, and right after the launch of HD consoles.

It does make me a little sad to know I can’t really play any of the online multiplayer, at least not the way it would’ve been back at the time. Something like CoD Classic in particular probably had an extremely limited time with an active player base.

#retro gaming #call of duty #call of duty classic #CoD #gaming

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dreaminginthesunshine · 11 months

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Hi, @taylorswift 💕

The hard realities of life got in the way of my years of being able to be an active fangirl with everyone else during the time you would be active and chatting with your Swifties on social media, but I just wanted to pen a small show of love and appreciation for you since the day I learned of you.

It's some time in October 2006, just two months shy of my 11th birthday on December 2nd (yes, we're Sag twinsies!!!) I'm in Catholic middle school and I vividly remember all of the girls clamoring to ask one another if they had heard the song by Taylor Swift? Of course, I'm curious as I am nosy, and I'm like "Who is Taylor Swift? And, what song?!" No one's answering me, because if you weren't cool no one really talked to you, and if you didn't know you just didn't.

Until one day, I heard your voice fill the hallway.

"She's got everything that I have to live withooooooout." was the lyric that crooned out to me in its southern, country timbre. Now, I have to be honest here — being Black, country music is not often the first genre of music you're introduced to in your formative years, but I can proudly say that you were the first Country artist I have memory of ever hearing. And, when I did hear your voice I couldn't help but feel like this was the ride I should get on to foray into country music if I was going to. And man, I've never been more thrilled and proud that I took that ride and am still on it today.

So, I make a mental note to Google those lyrics for when I got home. The DSL/Broadband is running exceptionally well this day, and as I click search, I'll never forget the cerulean blue, greens, and teal colors jumping out at me with this youthful, blonde hair, blue-eyed beauty staring back once the page loaded. Like most at a young age, you think anyone else who looks young in appearance is also your age, but I'd later realize that was not the case by Fearless. But, I knew off rip, that you weren't a one-time listen.

Much to my sadness, I was the kid that had to rely on CDs and tapes for my boombox to listen to music. Of course, iPod Nanos had come out and they were all the rage, but I didn't even have a phone still (lame sauce, I know) so I knew my parents were not shelling out for THE iPod Nano. Cue Love Story pandemonium, and by then, if you didn't know who Taylor Swift you needed to find out, and fast.

Fast forward to November 2008, one month before my 13th birthday and the Fearless album drops. I'm right back in a similar setting like in that of October 2006 with your self-titled album and you're legit all the pre-teen rage. Except this time I'm going to discover for myself what you're all about. My dad had surprised me with the iPod Nano (YAYAYA new technology, but still not a phone 😂) I make sure that my parents at some point in time take me to the store so I can get this one CD with one of the birthday gift cards I always hoarded because I didn't know what to buy anyway. There it was at Best Buy — "FEARLESS" it had emblazoned in capital letters across the front. I remember thinking how ethereal and magical the CD looked because of the golden color palette (and the curls? SLAY!) and couldn't wait to put it in my CD player and burn it to iTunes (when that was a thing). I hated unwrapping my CDs because I wanted them to stay nice and preserved, but I knew it had to be done. With my two, fresh double AA batteries inserted into the back of my CD player, I opened the purple and silver lid, pressed the CD inside, pressed play, and the first snare drum hits . . . "it's Fearless." I could actually cry on the spot thinking about how this song made me feel. Like all your dreams could come true, you could fall in love even at 12 — just a cesspool of nostalgia, romanticizing, and teenage dreams not yet fulfilled. I knew then that this wasn't a one-off, this was quite literally as you so beautifully coined a forever and always thing.

I say all of that to say, in short, that you have quite literally been the most enchanting musical journey I've ever had the pleasure of experiencing. It's not every day that you literally get to grow up with an artist as they are too, and so in many ways I feel like you have written the soundtrack to the years of my childhood, and to know that I'll always be able to go back and listen to those times each album defined in my life is so special.

Thank you for sharing the most personal parts of your life with us, knowing that it might be able to help us through our own lives. There's something to be said about someone who selflessly uses their vulnerability, trials, and tribulations, to not only free themselves of the mental cages they can often forge, but to provide solace to others through those words so that they can too in their own journeys. Eleven-year-old me wishes I had been able to be more present with you on social media through all of these years (LOL I didn't have a phone 😂), but I hope catching up with you now at 27 is okay too. I love you so much, and I hope one day I get to meet you in person and share how much. Thank you for being there for me through your music since Day 1.

By the way, you're absolutely killing it on tour and look SO incredible up there every night. Even though I missed the first 20 minutes of my first ever show seeing you on Houston N3 (4/23) trying to find a non-scalper ticket 😭 I had the time of my life, as always, with you. I hope to see you closing night in London to make up for the missed time. MWAH. Sending you squishy hugs from Houston.

Love, Jasmine/Jas @goodgirlfaithhh on twitter 💕

@taylornation @taylorswift

#taylor swift #i love you so much #11 year old me had to tell you #what a woman #you fucking rock #sag twins

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deadcactuswalking · 1 year

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REVIEWING THE CHARTS: 17/06/2023 (J Hus/Drake, Nathan Dawe/Joel Corry/Ella Henderson)

Content warning: Alcoholism and Drake features

Dave and Central Cee hold on for a second week with “Sprinter” at #1 on the UK Singles Chart, and welcome back to a human-written episode of REVIEWING THE CHARTS!

Rundown

This may be a particularly tired episode - I am kind of exhausted but surely the charts can fix that! Right? That’s how that works, right? Yeah, it’s probably the opposite but as always we start with notable dropouts, which are songs exiting the UK Top 75 - what I cover - after five weeks in the region or a peak in the top 40. This week is a tad less busy than last, but we still do have a somewhat impressive list here, consisting of “Hits Different” by Taylor Swift - already! - as well as a few older songs that had returned recently, those being “Maria Maria” by Santana featuring The Product G&B and “Creep” by Radiohead. We also bid farewell to “Haven’t You Ever Been in Love Before” by Lewis Capaldi, “MATHEMATICAL DISRESPECT” by Lil Mabu (good riddance), “I Wrote a Song” by Mae Muller, “Search & Destroy” by Drake and “If We Ever Broke Up” by another Mae, that being Stephens. Yeah, I’m not really complaining about any of this.

So what’s filling the blanks? Well, we have returns for “I Ain’t Worried” by OneRepublic at #72 for whatever reason and thanks to his regular concert-related return, “Seventeen Going Under” by Sam Fender is back for a week or two at #29. Elsewhere, we see boosts for “Give it to Me” by Matt Sassari at #64 - I’m kind of surprised that one’s getting anywhere - “Closer” by Bou featuring Slay at #48 (joy), “Sittin’ on Top of the World” by Burna Boy at #43, “Heaven” by Niall Horan rebounding to #40 thanks to his #1 album, “UNHEALTHY” by Anne-Marie featuring Shania Twain at #36 (her first top 40 hit in 20 years), “Satellite” and “Late Night Talking” by Harry Styles at #31 and #30, “Heat Waves” by Glass Animals at #25 (seriously), “Waffle House” by the Jonas Brothers at #22, and quite fortunately, “Good Love” by Hannah Laing and RoRo at #13. We also have a welcome addition to the top 10 with “Padam Padam” by Kylie Minogue at #9, becoming her first top 10 hit as a lead artist since 2010’s “All the Lovers” hit #3, and she has like 30 to a morbillion others, including her feature Taio Cruz’s “Higher” in 2011, which peaked at #8, but that song also had Travie McCoy of the Gym Class Heroes on it so maybe it’s best we don’t acknowledge its existence.

This week’s top five on the UK Singles Chart consists of “REACT” by Switch Disco featuring Ella Henderson and the late Robert Miles at #5, “Giving Me” by Jazzy at #4, “Miracle” by Calvin Harris and Ellie Goulding at #3, “Who Told You” by J Hus featuring Drake debuting at #2 - more on that later - and of course, “Sprinter” by Dave and Cench at the top. With all that out of the way, it is now time for our batch of new arrivals and… it’s a bit of a mess? Let’s just get through them.

NEW ARRIVALS

#75 - “So Much in Love” - D.O.D

Produced by D.O.D

Well, it’s been a while since we’ve heard from D.O.D, the Manchester DJ best known for “Still Sleepless”, which is a song I still quite like. I didn’t exactly have any expectations but yeah, this is about just as good. It is funny to think that D.O.D is cribbing from the same vocal loops as Bad Boy Chiller Crew did with a song of the same name, but he definitely does more with it, including the tense chopping of the vocal amidst church organs in the beginning with really ramps up the melodrama to a level that seems appropriate for how relentlessly hard the hardcore kick ends up going in the drop. In fact, I think I ended up talking myself into liking this a great deal more than I initially did, probably because it hit some kind of nostalgia receptor, but the raspier vocal and the juicy bass synth really did convince me on this, especially with the choking percussion and the ambient release in the bridge that may have church organs, but they’re pretty jerky, and amidst a lot of janky distant synths, which fits for a song about desperately trying to return the relationship to the good old times. By the time it got to the breakdown using what sounds like an audience cheering and an alarm siren, it really hit me that this is an excellent dance song. I’m glad to know that the uniqueness of the more independent dance hits from last year is continuing on into this year, and this kind of wacky garage house track can add yet another song to that burgeoning list, it’s great.

#69 - “VULGAR” - Sam Smith and Madonna

Produced by Sam Smith, ILYA, Cirkut, Omer Fedi, Ryan Tedder and Jimmy Napes

Well, it’s been a while since we’ve heard from Sam Smith after their album rollout and well, we’re never stop hearing from Madonna, yet this collaboration makes perfect sense. If Smith wishes to go the “Unholy” route - which proved profitable - the next logical step is ugly transgression with, well, the Queen of Transgression. I am kind of underwhelmed by this, honestly, considering the snippet ended up sounding weirder than the actual song. We start with intense strings and obnoxiously pitch-shifted vocals as I kind of expected, before getting into a bassy minimal groove - which I also expected - and man, I think the problem is I expected too much of it. I still like the song, with its staccato verses and grinding industrial plucks and sound effects, as well as the refusal to actually “work” as a pop song, but apart from the drop with eerie strings, cacophonous house percussion and an overwhelming bass that really is hurt by the stop-and-start rhythm of the chorus. I’d argue Madonna actually performs better here than on “Popular”, particularly because this brand of more avant-garde electropop has been her brand for the 2010s before it was Sam’s, and she actually kind of dominates the song by the end, which makes complete sense since Sam doesn’t work well here - they feel a bit too hollow and sensitive in their vocal tone to make sense on a track that needs an Arca remix. I still did end up liking this song, even on pure novelty, but I really wish it went somewhere edgier and more actually challenging.

#66 - “Mona Lisa” (Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse) - Dominic Fike

Produced by Will Yanez, Beat Butcha, Kenny Beats and StarGate

Well, it’s been a while since we’ve heard from Dominic Fike, though I heard he was acting in an insufferable HBO series… so it makes sense that he’s back with yet another song from the Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse soundtrack.This one has self-aware cover art, which makes me automatically hate it since you had millionaire rappers on the official soundtrack and they were absolutely fine with using their image for Spider-Man, so for this little indie pop lad who sounds like a nose piercing personified could probably use it for some momentum without, you know, making fun of it. It’s needless to say, I think this is terrible, with a weak falsetto vocal loop and obnoxiously Lauv-esque acoustic guitar strumming that… becomes a house song, for some reason, and it really caught me off-guard whilst also sounding incredibly unfitting, especially with some of the most unlikeable Auto-Tuned vocals I’ve ever heard in this brand of alt-pop. Not even the chorus is all that catchy, with both the shoddily-mixed percussion and his incomplete vocal inflections sounding like a rough demo. Let’s not get into the condescending lyrics before this gets embarrassing since this is just awful.

#59 - “Take Two” - BTS

Produced by SUGA and EL CAPITXN

You know, for a boy band that is “on hiatus”, it hasn’t really been a while since we last heard from BTS. This song is a one-off single celeb rating the 10th anniversary of the group’s formation, thanking their fans through this song being supposedly dedicated to them, but really, it reads like a generic breakup if you translate the lyrics. I’m sure they mean something extra for the ARMY and of course lyrics that don’t resonate won’t kill a song, especially not one with a nice watery guitar lick, co-produced by one of the members - SUGA - which is cool - to make the lovely platitudes seem particularly breezy and cute, which fits for the guys’ high registers and incredibly dedicated delivery, with all the boys selling everything as hard as possible in a very pop fashion, which becomes a problem in that kind of mess of a chorus, wherein the compression definitely does not do wonders for either half of the overly loud and overwhelming hook, with extra vocal riffing to add even more to the mix, and it sounds pretty bad, which is disappointing since outside of the chorus, this isn’t bad at all - it just devolves into really cheap-sounding advertisement music for the refrain. I actually really like the melodic rap delivery from j-hope and RM, and the way they trade spoken-word verses with SUGA in the bridge is a nice, intimate touch, with SUGA’s lyrics more specifically referring to the fans in a really poetic fashion if the Genius translation is to be believed. It’s a shame that these good elements don’t necessarily make a good song, but I don’t think it’s the boys’ fault, it could have just used some extra time in the vault to ensure it actually sounded right before release. I feel like I have to say this - nothing against the boys, absolutely screw military conscription - but I did not have a headache before listening and I now very much do, that’s all I can say.

#58 - “How Does it Feel” - Tom Grennan

Produced by Carl Falk and Ryan Linvill

Well, it’s been a while since we’ve heard from Tom Grennan, but this is his last pre-release single before he released his album What Ifs & Maybes - on the day of me writing this - so I was excited to hear if he could finally fully impress me. “All These Nights” got close, but Grennan has always been so close to making an actually great 80s pop rock pastiche… and God damn it, he might have just done it, because this is an insanely fun bop, and one that’s also kind of toxic to boot. He sounds pathetic belting amidst the Infectious guitars and flat synthpop drums, promising that he’s changed and he’ll make the relationship work, but sounding absolutely not enthused about it. The call-and-response between the Auto-Tuned drizzle of “Just tell me something” before the verse starts with “I don’t know what to tell you” is great, and the sing-songy chorus where he acknowledges how this is far away from actually apologising and mending wounds is just the icing on this petty, condescending cake. His breathy, smug delivery makes this sound just that more like a complete douchebag anthem, and the refrain of “How does it feel?” seems particularly just like a complete dick move, and I’m embracing all of it, with the rapid staccato harmonies of the second chorus and the killer anti-climax that is that chorus, as well as those twinkling synths that back its second half. I’d prefer a bridge with a bit more to it, or no bridge at all, but the drum fills and fuzzy ambiance does grant it some extra oomph that I appreciate. I even think that unlike most Tom Grennan songs, it wouldn’t work better as a heavier track since it needs its breeziness to be as pissy as it is. So, yeah, by being complete unlikeable, Tom Grennan has won me over. What does that say about me? Oh, Liam Payne co-wrote this? That makes way too much sense.

#45 - “Dial Drunk” - Noah Kahan

Produced by Noah Kahan and Gabe Simon

Well, it’s been a while since we’ve heard from… okay, who the heck actually is this guy? So, Kahan is from Vermont and he makes folk music, and since the UK is latching onto country, I suppose rootsy Americana is to follow, with his recent reissue of his album Stick Season generating his first genuine breakout hit on the charts with “Dial Drunk” and, well… I’m not a fan, but I’m sure the kids like it. I don’t like it primarily for very shallow reasons - the drums are mixed in a way that sounds too dusty and distracting, and I just can’t really stand Kahan’s kind of nasal voice and delivery, which is a shame because he paints a good picture in his songwriting, which is a narrative about an alcoholic regretting his actions when he uses someone he’s no longer in a relationship with as an emergency call once he’s arrested. It definitely has the jerkiness and uncertainty of an alcoholic, including a dialogue between him and the police in the bridge which was actually pretty compelling… and yeah, I’ve talked myself into liking it again, except not as much this time, primarily because I still don’t necessarily like how the song sounds, even if the guitar solo’s pretty nice and as are the harmonies. It’s still just a bit grating and kind of unlikeable to actually work for me, and the chorus feels way too consistent for its content, but it’s definitely a decently written and composed song, just not one that I’m particularly feeling.

#23 - “0800 HEAVEN” - Nathan Dawe, Joel Corry and Ella Henderson

Produced by Nathan Dawe, Joel Corry and Punctual

Well, it’s been a while since we’ve heard from - who am I kidding? These people are charting constantly, and rarely with an actually good song, though to be fair, it just happens that all three have actually had a song that impressed me for the first time just recently, as “Oh Baby”, “Dance Around It” and “REACT” are all great tunes, so I had some element of hope, but I was still expecting it to be pretty generic and well, it is, but it has a very cheesy Eurodance element to it, especially with the conceit of Heaven having a phone line, which Ella sells way too seriously - and that is a good thing… in fact, screw it, I like the song as a whole too. The flubbery synth lead sounds farty and obnoxious in the best way possible, and the percussion actually has some frenetic energy to it that I really appreciate detail-wise, before tunnelling into the Eurodance club drop it was made to have. I do have to say - it’s not particularly impressive lyrically, in fact the sole verse and pre-chorus are kind of cringeworthy, and the song structure is of course not particularly impressive, with its wham line already being corny before being interrupted for the drop. Does that mean I don’t like it? Far from it - the drop bumps, Ella sounds great and the song gives me a wave of Clubland TV nostalgia, and to be fair to the usually bland producers here, there is some nice ambiance and detail, especially in the outro with the recorded phone call. Some extra effort was put into the atmosphere of this one, and it went a long way. Good song.

#2 - “Who Told You” - J Hus featuring Drake

Produced by P2J, E.Y., Gaetan Judd and JAE5

Well, it’s been a Drake since we’ve Draked from Drake, but I’m definitely more excited about the production here, given P2J and JAE5 sounds like an incredible duo, and J Hus has slid on production particularly from JAE5 before, so I had high hopes… and, well, it’s not what I expected, definitely being a bit more percussive with its jazzy pianos and quasi-Afrobeats rhythm amidst stray chipmunk vocals… and yeah, J Hus is not great here. He’s never been great at songs about women or partying, so he feels completely out of his element trying to adapt his unique delivery to a very fitted rhythm, so his performance is just awkward and honestly embarrassing with his corny sex raps and just repeating himself in the first verse. It’s not like Drake sounds any better - he’s just off-beat, referencing his own songs in his fake accent and taking random left-turns into melodic flows whilst being way too shoddily mixed for the sheer length of his demo-sounding verse. The squeaking guitar that arrives during his verse sounds just as unfitting as Drake does, and for whatever reason, there’s a second J Hus verse, and he sounds a bit more energetic but again, his unhinged delivery doesn’t fit on tighter grooves like this, even when a bit more melodious as he tends to be. It’s why he’s always on looser instrumentals, so this just feels like an okay beat given to a duo that can’t really fit it all too well, since in the arms of maybe a Wizkid, this could end up a lot better. Oh, and Drake should continue to be embarrassed about every little thing he does until eventually he becomes this shameless deity figure that only exists as a figment of our imagination and is a distant memory in everyone who remembers the past wrath of Aubrey Graham.

Conclusion

It’s not getting Worst of the Week though, as that goes to “Mona Lisa” by Dominic Fike, though J Hus and Drake bag the Dishonourable Mention. The rest is mostly decent, but I really did love listening to “So Much in Love” so D.O.D. gets the Best of the Week, and as much as I’d want to ensure that both positive titles went to dance songs, I think Tom Grennan just pips the trio to the post with “How Does it Feel”. Overall, a surprisingly good week, and I have no idea what’s ahead of us until Olivia Rodrigo returns, so for now, thank you for reading and I’ll see you next week!

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ladysolwind · 1 year

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This post might be incoherent. I’m very tired but I love media analyzing and my brain is all FE all the time right now.

So, instead of restarting Silver Snow again, I decided to pop Engage back in. Mechanically, there are things I really like about Engage. The Ring system and inheriting skills is nice, chain guarding is a good feature, and I like the addition of daggers, arts, and chain attacks. I have been missing combat arts, but I feel like mechanically it balances out because of the rings.

THERE BE SPOILERS FOR 3H AND ENGAGE BELOW

My preference of Three Houses really stems from the story. Surprisingly, I don’t mean the heaviness of Three Houses vs the cheesy anime nature of Engage, but in the breathing room you get in 3H. Like, Alear doesn’t get a second to really breathe and have any real bonding time with Lumera, while you really get a chance to understand Jeralt and Byleth’s relationship. You get to see Jeralt’s lies begin to catch up to him, how despite his misgivings with Rhea, he’s happy to see Byleth actually enjoying new life as a professor. Meanwhile Engage is really hamfisted with “wow I can’t wait to spend time with my mom! We have so much to do togethe-- aaaand she’s dead D:” like... right away. Despite the VAs really going in with Lumera’s death scene, it’s not nearly as impactful as Jeralt’s because we barely know Lumera. Is her quick death intentional in order for the reveal that she isn’t even Alear’s mom be more surprising? Probably.

Also the plot thickens so fast in Engage. We’re balls deep in the war right away. The corrupted are right there immediately after waking up. Alear has no breathing room. Meanwhile Byleth really gets a chance to settle in and become close with the other units before shit hits the fan. Like after the tutorials, everything is a sprinkle of information in 3H that builds up on new information bit by bit, or sets up something to parallel after the time skip. Meanwhile the story of Engage feels hollow, the antagonists lack concrete motivation, and each chapter moreso feels like a vessel to introduce a new ring and provide fanservice. Yet I think that’s the point. Engage isn’t about the story, it’s about loving the series as a whole and, even though a lot of the new characters look neat and are plenty likable, it’s not so much about them. It’s about the nostalgia and providing likable foils to old characters.

I mean, I like Shadow Dragon more than most fans do, and that has less story than Engage to dissect, so who am I to fault Engage on this front?

Okay, this is where I admit I’m a bad fan. I have never played 4-10. Shadow Dragon was my first game, since my gateway into the series was being a Marth main in Melee as a kid. From there I did play 1-3, then New Mystery, and Awakening. After that I played every game more or less upon release. Love seeing Celica and Tiki. I’m good with Corrin, but I don’t like Camilla. She icks me. I like seeing Lucina, and I get a real kick out of Chrom and Robin being in the same bracelet. The house leaders sharing a bracelet doesn’t thrill me as much, and I have no attachment to M!Byleth. Now that I’ve seen more bond conversations, I’m more okay with Marth being how he is. He’s so complimentary of everyone and thinks every character is deserving of all the support and praise, and yeah, that checks.

Point being, my connection to all the other characters isn’t as established. Not to say I dislike them, in fact I really want to go back and play the other games because I really find myself liking Lyn and Soren quite a bit. It’s just that the fanservice feels more hollow, and that’s what Engage is. It sacrifices plot and unit character development because the game serves as a vessel for platforming old favorites. It’s a sampler platter of elements from the whole series.

I guess my conclusion is that it’s really hard to fully compare Engage and Three Houses because they were made to accomplish two very different things despite being from the same franchise, and both succeed on what they’re trying to do. Engage is happy friendship unity and good triumphing over evil. Three Houses, well, who is evil? Who is good? Do right and wrong choices even exist in this game? Not really. There’s a good reason to do every route but decisions in every route that are flawed.

I’m just happy neither game has child units and having to pair every character together. It worked in Awakening, but man was it a drag in Fates.

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button-mash · 1 year

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What I played last week #13

Resident Evil 4 Remake [PC]

I had a really good time with this - someone was saying the other day how RE was always one of those series where they enjoyed the idea of them more than actually playing them. I think I am the same in a lot of ways in so far that I absolutely love them, have always really enjoyed the series and have loads of nostalgia for them, but I don't think I've ever bothered actually completing most of them... I think I watched a mate complete RE2 round his house when I was younger, the first one I ever finished was 5 (which I weirdly became obsessed with speedrunning - never done that with any game before or since, but I was randomly the fastest solo time in the UK and top 100 in the world at one point!)

Beyond that, I finished Village and I finished one campaign of 2 Remake, but most of the time they've been games Ive sort of had fun with mucking around with but rarely seeing through to the end.

That was the same for 4, which I must have started on various systems over the years about 100 times but never really bothered playing it through to the end for various reasons. I do think part of it is RE games have a habit of starting really strong and then fading a bit, but the series just occupies this weird spot where I have such a love and reverence for the series, and how it often effortlessly straddles the line between being genuinely creepy and atmospheric, all whilst being super serious about how utterly fucking stupid it is, which I think it lands because so many of the unlockables and easter eggs across the series involve the developers breaking their po-faced serious act and sneaking a nudge and a wink to show you they know exactly how daft they're being

I always uses Super Bunnyhop's line about RE2 Remake where he said something like 'the mastery of this remake is it that it remakes it not as it was, but how you remember it being', which I now think should be the benchmark for any good remake. I actually think 4 goes a step beyond this where it's taken great efforts to actually subvert what you're expecting and tried to keep things fresh, or streamline them or improve flow. They have a lot more room to do that in 4 compared to 2 as it's a significantly longer game, but it still masterfully keeps things familiar whilst still managing to surprise you.

It's a fantastic remake of a fantastic game - I do think it's maybe a touch too long and some sections feel like filler, but it's hard to get too far away from that when you're remaking something, and I actually think they do a good job of tidying things up where they can, and manage to completely change or even straight up remove some sections of the original without it feeling like it compromises the flow and feel of the original. Some of the moments are genuinely great - the Krauser fight being a standout for me. They've also done a good job with the characters too - they've subtly made Leon way cooler but without completely removing his goofy cornyness. Ashley is also significantly less annoying than she was in the original game too. The only weird spot for me was Ada Wong. Sphere Hunter's review pointed out that the voice actress sounded really bored, and I can't unhear it now - its like they accidentally uploaded readthrough lines or something, its bizarre. Also the Merchant's voice don't hit the same at all, which does unfortunately actually make the game 0/10 stranger!

It's hard to play something like this in 2023 and judge it as a 3rd person action shooter - the original influenced so many things and it's become such a pop-cultural mainstay in gaming that it's hard to avoid forgetting that it started it all - it's like the Godfather or Smells Like Teen Spirit, where it's easy for something to feel overplayed and over imitated... Yet every time you have a moment of 'been there done that' or something feeling dated or unoriginal, you have to remind yourself that all the games you've played that occasionally make it feel by the numbers likely wouldn't have existed at all without RE4.

The fact it's remake still stands out as a notably fun and memorable experience means it's impact and quality really shouldn't be taken for granted I've completed the game another 4 times since I first drafted this, its RE5 all over again.

Katana Zero [PC]

After my 4th completion of RE4 Remake in a row, I decided I needed to break the spell and play a pallette cleanser. Decided to play Katana Zero on a whim, which I thought I had completed when it first came out, although I wasn't sure how because I didn't own it until the last steam sale, I think I thought I'd played it on Gamepass or something. I remembered thinking it was cool but not really liking it as much as everyone else seemed to. When I played through it, I was wondering if they'd added loads to the game since, because there was loads of story bits I couldn't remember at all. I checked when I finished it, and it turns out I'd actually owned it on steam and refunded it before my 2 hours were up, which actually really surprised me. I found an old post I'd made on a forum at the time which said "It's absolutely not a bad game at all, in fact I think some people will play it and have an excellent time with it, but you can also tell you've kinda seen almost everything within the first hour, and I just don't see me pouring hours into it trying to beat levels more fluidly and stuff. It's cool in a lot of ways, but it has ridiculously limited enemy variety, and I don't find the mechanics all that deep or satisfying in a twitch way."

I actually still agree with that in a lot of ways - the gameplay is fun, but it never really evolves and it starts to feel a little rote pretty quickly. I hate when games just shoehorn in pointless skilltrees and stuff, but I do think it's just a few new abilities or level mechanics or enemy types away from being something much more special. I'm surprised I completely jacket it in though, because I actually really loved the story and the setting of it. The Cyberpunkish/Noir setting is already very cool and well executed visually, but even with it's pixel style, it manages to be a genuinely really moody, atmopsheric, engaging story that I thought really engaging and managed to be really visually emotive - much more so than most games in this graphical style. It's a surprisingly engaging, oddly touching and often resonant story and I am surprised I just ducked out of it considering how much I enjoyed that part of it. It reminds me a lot of Hotline Miami in that regard - I mean it's got a lot of similarities with Hotline Miami in general, but I think the elements where it tries to lean into PTSD and tries to be a lot more serious are very similar, except I think Katana Zero manages to do them in a better and more compelling way. Yet some of this all felt so familiar that I am still sure I have completed this at some point in my past, I feel like im going senile

Either way, the story ends at what is very much the close of the middle arc, and it turns out that the story is supposed to be concluded via some free DLC coming at some point in the vague future. Im kinda glad I've only gotten into it now, because I think it would have been a bit of a bummer waiting like 2+ years just to get the conclusion of the story, but now it feels like something to look forward to.

Also made myself laugh because I somehow skipped over the mechanic where you could slow down time even though loads of the encounters are specifically designed around it, and completed most of the game instead just becoming absolutely ill at it blocking bullets in real time and that

Golden Tee Fore! 2006 [Arcade]

I played a bunch of this last week and have continued to play more, trying out a bunch of the different courses. Just an awesome game

Simpson's Bowling [Arcade]

I spent ages getting this running properly as it's quite a beloved game, but I was quite underwhelmed to be honest. It has a decent amount of personality (which you'd hope tbf), but as a game its somehow a mix of feeling way too simplistic, but also plodding and slow. It's really easy too, I bowled a 290 my first game, and I feel like I could confidently bowl a 300 within a couple of goes if I really concentrated. Too many other better bowling arcade games out there for this one to get a look really

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